How to find a long lost 401k?

[bookkeeper]

My next door neighbors lost their adult son a few weeks back.  The son had serious health problems and had been living with his parents for two years or so.  In visiting with the neighbors, they know their son had a 401k from his previous employer but they have no documentation as to where it might be.  The son worked in a fast food restaurant as a manager.  The restaurant he worked at is now owned by a different corporation than during his employment.

Any ideas on how to help my neighbors find the lost 401k?  They think the value of it should be over $40,000.   The son could have cashed it in, however, he never told his parents that he did.  Things like this make a hard time even harder.

[Tennesseer]

If the past fast food restaurant was part of a regional or national chain, and the current corporation is national or regional, HR of current corp. should be able to help the parents to at least guide them to the area with to corp where they can begin seeking what they need to know.  Probably somewhere in the HR retiree benefits of finance department.

[chapeau]

That is awful. But maybe something concrete to focus on might help?
I’d start with the state registry of unclaimed property. If he has been living with them for 2 years and they haven’t seen any statements, it’s possible hat the 401k admin has also lost track of him.
Do they know anyone who also worked with him at that restaurant that they could reach out to and ask questions?
Finally, did the fast food company that owned his store go under, or was it sold, or did they just sell that location? If that company is still in existence, reach out to them for information.

[ken a.k.a OMK]

There is a chance they might get a quarter or annual statement from the plan administrator. Make sure his mail is getting forwarded.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Apr 20, 2019 9:16:33 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

There is a chance they might get a quarter or annual statement from the plan administrator. Make sure his mail is getting forwarded.

yeah.

do they have the pass word to his computer and email? that could be another source of information on accounts.

[bookkeeper]

I was just thinking that his prior years tax returns should show if he cashed in the 401k.  He would have owed some tax and penalty if he liquidated it.  

The new AARP magazine had an article about "the Forgotten 401k".  It had some links to federal Department of Labor websites.  That's all I have come up with so far.

[thyme4change]

Apr 20, 2019 10:41:44 GMT -5 bookkeeper said:

I was just thinking that his prior years tax returns should show if he cashed in the 401k.  He would have owed some tax and penalty if he liquidated it.  

The new AARP magazine had an article about "the Forgotten 401k".  It had some links to federal Department of Labor websites.  That's all I have come up with so far.

I was thinking tax documentation also.

[Deleted]

The government also does a pretty decent job of tracking down beneficiaries.  A couple of years ago I got a letter from them telling me I might be eligible for a pension from a company I'd left in 1995 (was aware of it and had filed) as well as some Employee Stock Ownership plan benefits from a company I left in 1978!   I'd actually tracked the older one down, too- a stock certificate had gone astray and in 1985 or so I sent in verification that I'd lost it and they issued a new one.  This was through multiple moves and 2 marriages although I'd never changed my name and of course had the same SSN.  If the parents were listed as beneficiaries they might be notified eventually even if they can't find the account through their own efforts.    

[NoNamePerson]

Nothing to add but maybe let them know that there are scammers out there that will "help" you locate lost/forgotten funds "for a fee". They gleam names from the obits and if they can will pounce on the parents. Not hard to track folks down with all the info in obits and internet searches so they can't think it won't happen to them. Just a thought.

[Deleted]

I heard a story last night from a friend in the oil and gas industry.  They had been billing a working interest owner on a new well for some months without response.  My friend decided to do a little online research and found the owner, a woman well into her 90's, had passed away.  It's unlikely that she ever knew she had 2% mineral rights in anything, much less that there was a producing well, as all paperwork went to a long-ago address.  Per her obit, she was survived by a son who is being tracked down and will learn that he now owes $850,000 expenses for his share of the well.  The good news is that there is accrued revenue of $675,000 to date and the well is producing like  a freight train so he will soon have a very healthy income stream (assuming of course that he is the heir and that mom had a will).  Of course, if mom died intestate or was receiving Medicaid assistance, the legal costs and Medicaid claw-back provisions may take it.  

[hoops902]

Apr 20, 2019 15:20:46 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

The government also does a pretty decent job of tracking down beneficiaries.  A couple of years ago I got a letter from them telling me I might be eligible for a pension from a company I'd left in 1995 (was aware of it and had filed) as well as some Employee Stock Ownership plan benefits from a company I left in 1978!   I'd actually tracked the older one down, too- a stock certificate had gone astray and in 1985 or so I sent in verification that I'd lost it and they issued a new one.  This was through multiple moves and 2 marriages although I'd never changed my name and of course had the same SSN.  If the parents were listed as beneficiaries they might be notified eventually even if they can't find the account through their own efforts.    

The government does, and the government has also really started leaning heavily on the companies who hold these assets to be more diligent about tracking them down.

So even if you can't find it, it's SUPPOSED to work this way:

1.  Company who administers the 401k subscribes to a database which passes them the SSNs of deceased individuals.
2.  Company attempts to contact beneficiaries on record to gather the necessary documentation and pay out the death claim.
3.  If the company cannot pay out the death claim, they escheat the money to the corresponding state.
4.  The state holds the money and ostensibly attempts to find the correct owner of the money (though their success rate isn't great, hence why you have so much money in the system where you search the databases to see if you are owed the money.)

The government REALLY wants companies to pay out their claims themselves.  They don't WANT companies to send the money to the state because it is extra work for them, so there have been a lot of pushes lately to really get the companies to devote more time and resources to getting death claims paid out.

Even with this push, it'll be much better if you can find any documentation.  If you can get into the email, that's probably a big one as more and more companies move to electronic notifications.  Lots of really good suggestions so far, mail, tax returns, etc.

[bookkeeper]

The family does have his laptop and his password.  They have talked to me about how he was a procrastinator, the kind of person who would let things slide until he was good and ready to deal with them.  

[hoops902]

Apr 22, 2019 8:57:42 GMT -5 bookkeeper said:

The family does have his laptop and his password.  They have talked to me about how he was a procrastinator, the kind of person who would let things slide until he was good and ready to deal with them.  

Honestly, the fact that they know he had a 401k at one point is a huge leg-up to begin with.  Much easier than say...finding an IRA which could have been opened with ANYONE.  Call the current company offices, tell them the situation, and get a phone # to whoever administers the 401k.  That's really the 1st step.  After that is when you need to start looking on your own to see if he rolled it over to something else, etc.  

[Deleted]

I just found this link in the AARP magazine.  (Not thrilled with them and their whiny lobbying, but I like their Medicare supplement and the magazine.)

www.freeErisa.com

You have to register but they give you access to 401(k) filings for all plans, with contact information.